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Basestar (TRS)
This article is about the basestars as seen in the Re-imagined Series. For the Original Series version, see Basestar (TOS). A basestar (known interchangeably as a "baseship") is the most prominent example of the Cylon military presence. As the capital ship of the Cylons, the basestar appears in four forms in the Re-imagined Series. Cylon War-era basestars The Cylons had deployed three different variants of Basestars during the First Cylon War. First Variant The basestars in service during the 12-year Cylon War consisted of two flattened cones connected at the center by a thick pylon, giving them a conical saucer-like appearanceThis basestar design seen in the Miniseries and later in "Razor" is an obvious homage to the basestar seen in the Original Series. However, its weaponry (if not also its command structure) is markedly different than its 1978 counterpart per the "realistic" goals of Ron Moore's essay on Naturalistic science fiction in Battlestar. (TRS: "Razor Flashbacks"). Much like its modern counterpart, this model utilized chemically-propelled missiles (with both nuclear and conventional warheads) as the main form of offensive weaponry. Raiders were deployed from access points (totaling 8 in number) throughout a basestar's hull to provide defense. This design, as with later iterations, was capable of operating within an atmosphere (Blood and Chrome). The origins of the initial basestars are unclear. However, as Cylons were a creation of man in the early days before the war, it is probable that man himself (through the efforts of various colonies) designed the various ships and weapons used by the Cylons for the use in intra-colonial wars prior to the Articles of Colonization. A model of this basestar design is displayed over 40 years later on Galactica, as part of its planned museum (TRS: "Miniseries, Night 1"). Gallery Image:Basestar 3.png|A first variant Basestar hovering over Caprica City. Image:Operation Raptor Talon.jpg|Operation Raptor Talon at the end of the first Cylon War (TRS: "Razor"). Second Variant A second variant Basestar was deployed by Cylon forces sometime before the 10th year of the War. This class represents a small evolutionary step from the 1st variant to the Guardian Basestar, suggesting it wasn't a one-off design. This line of Basestars can then be linked to the modern design seen after the fall of the Colonies. This configuration features two y-shaped hulls in tandem alignment, with a 1st variant-like top and bottom hull. Missile launchers are located in between the arms of the ship, along the central axis ("Blood and Chrome"). Gallery Image:Basestar 1.png|A second variant Basestar over the ice moon Djerba. Image:Basestar 2.png|A second variant Basestar launches Raiders. Third "Guardian" Variant Towards the end of the first Cylon War, the Cylons built a prototype basestar that had roughly the same shape as the modern basestar. The first hybrids were developed for use with this model. It is explained by Athena that a group of Centurions calling themselves Guardians fractured from the Cylon majority with such a basestar. The belief is that they escaped to the far reaches of space to avoid being shut-down in favor of their modernized, non-sentient successors (TRS: "Razor"). The only basestar of this type known to exist was destroyed by Colonial forces shortly after its discovery. Gallery Image:Gardian basestar.jpg|Escaping the ice planet. Modern basestar The following was posted by Lee Stringer on StarshipBuilder.com forums, which are no longer available: "Width: 1030.69m Length: 856.1m (two arm side) + 1039.87m (single arm side) Height: 132.586m (Each Piece), 265.172m Total". Because of its ratio to the stated width, the overall length must have been measured on one of the three-arm pieces, meaning the full ship is slightly longer. | height= }} Design Modern basestars, built sometime before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, are the same size as a Colonial battlestar, but are considered by the Cylons to be weaker than battleships in the Colonial Fleet. The shape of the newer basestar reflects its name, with two offset Y-shaped hulls attached at their centers by a single pylon, the warship has a distinctive "star" shape, which can rotate into a tandem-Y configuration for entry into a planetary atmosphere (TRS: "The Plan").From 1:49 to 2:04 The most unique aspect of a modern baseship is its organic nature. Composed of organic resin, and a large flesh-like interior, the baseship could be considered an individual organism in itself, and just like any other "injured" organism, the basestar is able to heal its wounds (battle damage) over time (TRS: "Guess What's Coming to Dinner?"). The organics are all connected the the ship's "brain", known as a Hybrid, which can control the ship's functions from firing weapons, down to performing an FTL jump. They are equipped with a superior jump system and no visible means of sublight propulsion, lacking any engine pods or nacelles, but remain capable of chasing down a battlestar (TRS: "Exodus, Part II"). Baseships possess several conventional rooms and hallways, which are sleek but generally bland. Lighting plays a large role in the aesthetics and some rooms are furnished with clearly human objects, such as beds and couches. Humanoid Cylons project different surroundings to navigate ship corridors more easily, and to provide them with an individually pleasing environment (such as a lush forest). Data and other functions (such as analyzing visual information) are handled within a liquid computer interface that resembles a stream of water flowing over a luminous glass surface. Cylons can interact with the main computer by placing their hands in these basins (TRS: "Torn"). Command and Control A basestar is operated by many humanoid Cylons. Up to all seven models of them issue commands for the basestar from a central command and control center. Consensus amongst models is the typical procedure, as such the process of deliberation and voting on decisions may cause the basestar to react more slowly than a battlestar's command and control in a CIC. A basestar has a datastream, or computer network, which interfaces with the Hybrid and all aspects of the basestar's operation. Armaments A typical Cylon basestar is moderately armed, and relies on unconventional means for military strength. Generally, a basestar is armed with 220Season 3 (Collaborators) and onwardhttp://darthmojo.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/baseship_wallpaper.jpgAn image of one y structure. Two make up a basestar. missile launchers located on the central spire, and on the arms of the vessel, which are capable of carrying nuclear or conventional tipped ship to ship, or long-range ballistic (with Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle payloads) missiles to their targets. Ballistic missiles are able to strike planetary targets from high orbit ("The Plan"). Ship to ship missiles are easily defended against by Colonial electronic countermeasures, which lends the Cylons to rely more on the basestar's Raider compliment for for both offensive and defensive purposes. A basestar can carry up to (and maybe even moreIntelligence Debrief: Cylon Basestar, "Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine", June/July 2006, page 56.) 434 Raiders, launched from storage bays located on each arm of the ship.larger section, multiply by 2: 5 rows of 17 slots, and 2 rows of 7 slotssmaller section, multiply by 4: 59 total slots Upon launch, they set out to swarm the enemy target (almost like insects), while the basestar covers them with an opening salvo of ship to ship missiles. This tactic, suggests a reliance on overwhelming force to destroy a foe, since a basestar does not appear to have point-defense batteries, or heavy armoring.Intelligence Debrief: Cylon Basestar, "Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine", June/July 2006, page 57. Cylon basestars appear quite vulnerable to Colonial battlestars in close-range combat when fighter support is not prominent (TRS: "Resurrection Ship, Part II"). From this, it can be theorized that basestars are designed primarily as carriers for the massive fleet of Raiders they carry, rather than as a front-line main battleship. Their reliance on long-distance attacks with missiles and their complement of Raiders, as well as their overall fragility seem to support this (TRS: "Miniseries", "33", "Razor", "The Plan"). Notes * Beginning with the episode "Collaborators", a new exterior design is used for the basestars, bearing a sharper, more mechanical look than they previously had. This was apparently an upgrade by the visual effects crew to make the exterior reflect the interior design, which is seen for the first time in that episode. ** This new design reduces the amount of Raider bays from 792 to 434, and also adds identifiable missile launch platforms. Gallery Image:Baseship, hornet nest.jpg|Raiders being released (TRS: "Scattered"). Image:Baseships over Caprica.jpg|Trio of basestars over Caprica (TRS: "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II"). Image:Dyingbasestar_306_720p.png|A basestar infected by a deadly virus (TRS: "Torn"). Image:Basestar Interior 1.jpg|Baltar and a Three in a room on a basestar (TRS: "Torn"). Image:Basestar Interior 2.jpg|Baltar and a Three in a corridor (TRS: "The Passage"). Image:Basestar Interior 3.jpg|A basestar's hangar bay (TRS: "Torn"). Image:Cylon membrane hatch.jpg|A membrane covers a mechanical-looking hatch of a Cylon docking slip (TRS: "Faith"). Image:Basestars Atmospheric Entry Configuration.png|Tandem "Y" formation assumed for atmospheric entries as seen in "The Plan". Image:Basestars Entering Caprica Atmosphere.png|Another view of tandem "Y". Image:Basestar Missle Launchers The Plan.jpg|Basestar Weaponary. Image:Closeup Basestar Missle Launcher.png|Closeup of missle launcher with MIRV mounted. Image:Retconned Basestar Raider Bays.png|Detail of primary raider bays. There are two per ship. Image:Cylon Basestar Secondary Raider Bay.png|Detail of the secondary raider bays. There are four per ship. Image:Rebel Basestar Arm Closeup.png|Arm detail. Image:New Cylon Basestar Zoic Style Shot.png|Angle shot. References Category:A to Z Category:Cylons Category:Cylons (RDM) Category:Cylon Craft Category:Cylon Craft (RDM) Category:Cylon Military Category:Cylon Military (RDM) Category:Ships Category:Ships (RDM) Category:TRS de:Basisschiff (RDM) es:Basestar (RDM) zh:基地之星 (RDM)